After facing a traumatizing near-death experience, a Virginia teacher is suing her former employer for an incident she believes was gravely mishandled. As previously reported by REVOLT, in early January, a 6-year-old boy took a loaded 9 mm handgun to Richneck Elementary School and shot Abigail Zwerner, his first grade instructor, in her chest and hand following an argument.

Today (April 3), the 25-year-old filed a $40 million lawsuit claiming the administrators at Richneck Elementary did not take the boy’s previous concerning actions nor her complaints seriously, leading to an attack that nearly cost her, her life. Newport News, Virginia police stated the child was deliberate in his plan to injure Zwerner; however, the minor will not face any criminal charges.

According to NBC News, Zwerner’s lawsuit was filed in the Newport News Circuit Court and alleges Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker chose to “breach her assumed duty” to protect the employee “despite multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual.” Before the shooting, the child also reportedly choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe” while in kindergarten at the Virginia school during the 2021-22 school year. Former Superintendent George Parker III and Richneck Principal Briana Foster Newton are also named in the suit.

Another incident involving the student included one in the 2021-22 school year when he allegedly pulled up the dress of a female student who fell on the playground and “began to touch the child inappropriately until reprimanded by a teacher.” He was transferred from the school but allowed to return the following year. Complaints added that the child also attempted to whip students with a belt and curse at staff. “Teachers’ concerns with John Doe’s behavior [were] regularly brought to the attention of Richneck Elementary School administration, and the concerns were always dismissed. Often when he was taken to the school office to address his behavior, he would return to the classroom shortly thereafter with some type of reward, such as a piece of candy,” Zwerner’s lawsuit reads.